Socket for tubular lamps



Dec. 7, 1937.v K. wlEGAND ET AL.

SOCKET F011` TUBULARY LAMPS Filed Deca. 193e www;

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,. `-la.\tentcd Dec. 7, 193,7l

1 PATENT OFFICE Vso'cmrr Foa TUBULAR mms Kurt Wiegand, Hohenneuendori, near Berlin, y

' and Alexander Koenig, Berlin-Charlottenburg,

Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 8, 1938, Serial No. 114,8

f In Germany December 18, 1935 l 4 claims. (ci. 11s-32s) 'I'he subject of this invention is a-contact-proof holding means for tubular or strip-light lamps having two bases, each of the bases consisting of a metal disk of a small width sealed to the lamp bulb. The invention has for its purpose to pro-A vide sockets into which the tubular lamp may be readily inserted and secured and also switched I into and out of circuit, said sockets having ,only a small widthy dimension, so that `no disturbing interruptions in the continuity 'of the line of light will occur between the adjacent tubular lamps when arranged in one direction behind each other.

The drawing shows a socket according to this lr6 inventionv in a physical embodiment.

, Fig. 1 showsin perspective themain parts of an individual socket with the parts separated;

Fig. 2 shows the individual socket in a cross section; Fig. 3 shows itin a longitudinal section; Fig.

* 4 shows the locked position of the socket and of the base in cross section, and Fig. 5 shows another design of a detail of the socket in cross section.

Each individual socket consists, as shown particularly in Fig. 1, of a body I, an insulating housing 2, an annular insulating sleeve 3 and a back lplate l. 'I'he socket body I has, as usual, a contact 5 to which the current'conductor 6 is`con' nected. By means of screws (not shown) which are countersunk, the body I canbe fastened to a :iO-base plate V(wall, board or the like). The-insulating housing 2 is providedl with a contact clamp 'I to which a contact pin 8 is connected by means oi a. leaf spring 'I'. An `upwardlydirected' wall, 9 is integral with part 2 or fastened, as by means oi screws (not shown) entering from below. In the wall ,9, a cylindrical opening IU is provided which is" partlyopen on top as a result of the cut-out Il whereby the base of a lamp may be entered transversely therein. An annular groove I2, in which the contact pin 8 extends, is provided in the cylindrical uncut periphery or opening I0, The annular sleeve,

which is provided'with a corresponding cut-.out

I5, is placed in the opening I0 and is held inthe waits, so that it can be rotated, by means of its rimmed end :wall I3 which nts in a groove il (Fig:

3)y of the wall4 9. It is prevented .from-displacement in axial direction by means of the back plate` 4 which can simply be screwed to the wall 9. The

limitation edgesof the'annular sleeve 3, which are formed by the .cut-out I5, are indicated by Y 'I8 and I1 (Fig. 1). The housing 2 can be fastened-in a known manner by means of screws (not shownl-to the body I .i

The-.construction of the base li8 of the tubular lamp it, which is to be secured in such sockets,

is also shown in Fig; l. The disk-shaped metal base I8 has on its flanged edge two projections lli, 2| and one radial contact projection 22 which is bent somewhat and which, in-its center, has 5 a small indentation 23. Y

lBefore placing the lamp in the socket, each annular sleeve 3 must be adjusted within its wall 9, in such a way that. its cut-out IB coincides with the cut-out Il of the wail 9; in 'other words, in 10 such a way that the two cut-outs are directed upward, using the position oi the socket according to Fig. 1 as a basis. The disk-shaped lamp bases I8 can then be inserted without diiilculty `when the position oi the lamp I9 is parallel to l5 the axis oi.' the socket. After the insertion of the lamp, the edge projections 20, 2i 'of each base will lie against the end edges I6 or I1 of the annular' sleeve 3', so that when the lamp is subsequently rotated in either direction, vthe annular 20 sleeve will be taken along. The lamp is then turned by about' 180 until the contact element 22 of the base which protrudes through the cut-out I5 in the sleeve, arrives with its indentation on the elastic contact pin Q of the socket housing, 25

which in that case not only establishes the current supply to the lamp, but also holds it elastically as itsnaps into the indentation 23o! the base projection 22. The lamp may be switched out of circuit by partial rotation thereof. In the 3c closed circuit position, the cut-out Il of the wall 9 is covered by the cylindrical part o1 the annular sleevel 3, so that .the lamp cannot be removed from the socket. If the lamp is to be removed irom the socket, then a rotation by 35 in one direction or the other will sumce again, in which case the annular sleeve 3 will again be taken along by the projections on the base edge 20 or 2l until the latter are free to move in an u pward direction in the cut-out il o'i the wall 8, 40 whereupon the lamp canv be removed quite readily. In 4addition to the turning of the lamp, no other .manipulation thereofis' required for its insertion in, and removalfrom, the socket. Also all electrically charged parts are protected at all 45 times against personal contact.A

In the modiiled construction ofthe individual socket according to Fig. 5, the contact and blocking pint will be energized only when it is moved .in a backward direction by the base projection 50 y contact pin 8, `as-a result, will not be energized liliA in the unloaded state, while a voltage will be applied only when the base projection 22 pushes it backward to such an extent that its free lower end will come in contact with the spring 1'.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A holder for an end of a double base lamp comprising an insulating Wall memberv having an annular opening with a cut-out portion"s and an annular groove opposite said cut-out portion, a terminal contact located in the bottom of the groove of said wall member, an insulating sleeve rotatable in said annular opening and provided with a corresponding cut-out portion, and said lamp base having a disk-shaped base provided with a. contact projecting from the periphery thereof into said groove of said wall member whereby rotation o the lamp effects closure or" the cut-out in the wall member and 'closure of the circuit thereof.

2. A holder for one end of a double base lamp comprising an insulating wall member having an annular opening with a cut-out portion, a terminal contact located in the uncut portion thereof, an insulating sleeve rotatable in said annular opening and having a corresponding cutout portion with transverse shoulders formed at QJOLBBQ the .ends thereof, and said lamp base provided with a radial contact, also edge projections adapted to engage the transverse shoulders of said sleeve upon being inserted through said cut-outs.

3. A holder for one end of a double base lamp comprising an insulating wall member having an annular opening with a cut-out portion at the upper part thereof and a groove in the lower part thereof, a spring-pressed contact located in said groove, an insulating sleeve with an end wall and a corresponding cut-out rotatable in said annular opening, and said lamp base having a radial contact movable rotatably in said groove into engagement with said contact.

4. A holder for one end of a double base lamp comprising a wall member having an annular opening extending therethrough and a portion cut-out to permit the lamp base to enter, a contact located in the annular opening opposite said cut-out, an insulating sleeve provided with an end flange to abut the outer surface of said wall member and a corresponding cut-out adapted to rotate in said annular opening, and a re taining plate secured to said wall member over the end of said sleeve.

KURT WIEGAND. ALEXANDER KOENIG. 

